End Game
by Shadow Veli
Summary: "It's all just a dream, right?" "No, it's all real, a living nightmare." "Then what is it?" "That's for you to find out." "But how do I get out?" "You don't." - Adopted by Renee Tsukyomi.
1. Chapter 1

**I thought of this story when I remembered how I'd screwed up watching the first episode of Shugo Chara. I'd accidently watched the 2****nd**** half of it first. I was so confused. The plot will unravel over the first few chapters, so don't worry if you don't understand at first. Even though Amuto is probably the most common pairing, I'm probably using it for this story. Sorry, all you Tadamu fans. There won't even be that much romance. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara or any of the characters, I just own the plot.**

The pinkette slowly examined the 4 strange eggs in front of her. One of them was pink, with a black stripe in the middle and pink hearts. The others were the same. The yellow one had diamonds, the blue one had spades, and the green one had clovers. As she slowly poked one, the surroundings changed. Her bedroom walls became a wall of trees. The roof disappeared and was replaced with a clear, blue sky. The desk in front of her dissolved into nothing, and she was left with the 4 strange eggs floating in front of her face. They all cracked, and in sync, popped out little people.

"I'm Ran!" One exclaimed. She was wearing a pink cheerleader's outfit, with two pompoms in her hands. A pink visor with a heart on it was turned diagonally on her head. Her pink hair was pulled back in a high tail. She seemed happy and energetic.

"I'm Miki," Another said. This one had on a black vest with a white shirt underneath, and blue shorts. A notepad and a pencil were held in her hands, while a white hat with a blue spade covered her blue hair. This one seemed a little mellower in personality.

"I'm Su, ~desu" The third one said. A puffy green dress with an apron matched the white bandana with a green clover that was covering some of her blonde hair. Her cheeks seemed to keep a rosy color to them.

"And I'm Dia," The last one said. This one had long brown hair pulled into pigtails. She was wearing a solid yellow-orange dress, and on her hair was a headband with a diamond the same color as the dress. A microphone could be seen.

Amu looked around, panicked. "Where am I? How'd I get here? Who are you?" She was spitting out a lot of questions at the four of them. The four of them exchanged looks and sighed. "What aren't you telling me?" Amu demanded. She was starting to worry. Not just a little, but a lot. How would she get home? What if she couldn't?

Before any of them could answer, Amu heard a rustling sound in the trees above. She looked up just in time to see a boy with midnight blue hair jump down. But what surprised her most was the cat ears perched atop his head, and the tail that flicked back and forth.

"Ah, I see someone's new here." He said chuckling. Amu blushed. Who was this guy, and what did he mean by "new here"?

"W-who are you?" She finally sputtered out. The man only smirked leaning close. She tensed up. This man was invading her personal space, and it made her feel uneasy.

"Ikuto," He whispered, his hot breath on her neck. "And I would like to be your personal guide." He leaned even closer, and Amu suddenly felt pressure on her ear. Blushing furiously, she pulled away, clutching her ear. This so-called Ikuto only laughed.

"It's all just a dream, right?" Amu wondered out loud. Surely it had to be. That's it, it's just a bad dream. Amu would wake up soon, and it would all be a bad nightmare.

Ikuto heard her. "No, it's all real, a living nightmare."

"What is it then?"

"That's for you to find out."

"But how do I get out?"

"You don't."

**Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. I'll try to get regular updates, but it's going to be hard with school. I usually write in free time during class, or on the bus. I'll be gone over Thanksgiving break, so I'll try to get more written then. Read and Review- Wait, you already read. Review!**

**Ja ne!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, I'm back! This chapter might be a little longer, seeing as the first was like a prologue. I usually write during my free time, so updates might be slow when school starts back up. Enjoy the story!**

"What!" Amu screeched, causing Ikuto to cover his ears. "What do you mean I won't be able to get out?" If she couldn't get out, what would happen to her?

Ran, Miki, Su, and Dia, who had all been sitting there quietly, looked down sadly. "Amu-chan…" Ran said. "You really don't know, do you?" That confused Amu. She was supposed to know something, but she didn't have a clue. Now at least she knew a few things. First, this was actually real and there's no way out. Second, these small floating people know something she didn't.

"What are you talking abo-" A loud growling sound came from the bushes. Amu turned around to see a wolf behind her. Only this wasn't any regular wolf. It's eyes were pure black, as well as it's fur. There was a large, white X on its forehead.

"Phantom Claw!" A large, see-through blue claw extended around her. It sliced the wolf in half, and then retracted back into Ikuto's hand. The wolf's body hit the ground and dissolved. Amu frowned, confused. Shouldn't there be a body?

Seeing my confused face, a little cat-like person floated in front of me. He had paws like a cat, a tail, and cat ears, but the rest was human. His hair was also a midnight blue. "You don't know? You're in the Yume no kuni* ~nya!" He said.

"Yoru!" Ikuto hissed, but Amu ignored him.

"…The Yume no kuni?" Amu asked, thoroughly confused. She glanced around. So she was in some sort of fairy tale land. Like in the stories your parents read you when you're a kid?

Ikuto sighed. "Yes, it's a place where all children's, dreams, nightmares, and fears are. Kids with strong dreams are sent, here, to get rid of all the bad things about dreams. We keep dreams alive, and destroy fear. They're given a Shugo Chara, or Guardian Character, to help them do that. But the most Charas I've heard of someone having is two. They live here until they're adults. Then, they just, disappear. But not back to the real world. Every time a kid is taken, the real world is altered, so it's as if the kid never existed."

Amu gasped. "So, my parents don't remember me? Not even my little sister?" At the thought of her family, she started crying. Everyone she knew didn't even know she existed. And she would never see them again…

All her charas flew toward her. "Don't be sad ~desu!" Su said. "It'll be alright."

"Yay! Yay! Cheer up Amu-chan!" Ran cheered. Amu just wished they'd shut up.

Though, Miki made her feel better. "There's a chance your sister might come to. If you're related, she might have strong dreams too. If she does come, she will remember you again." Then it dawned on Amu. Ami would have to share the same fate as her. But it would be nice to see her little sister again…

While crying, Amu hadn't realized Ikuto had picked her up and jumped into a tree. He gently set her down. "What'd you do that for?" Amu asked.

"This way, if you're heard, no one will be able to find you." But even as he said it, talking was heard nearby.

"I thought I heard someone crying, Kiseki." Amu looked down. There stood a boy with blonde hair and ruby eyes. What Amu supposed was his chara had violet hair, and blue eyes. A small crown was on his head, and a cape flowed behind him. He looked kind of like a king. A mini one, at that.

"Well, obviously not. Now come on, we have work to do!" The little king snapped.

After they left, Amu let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Who are they?" She asked. She thought the blonde hair boy was cute, but she'd never admit it.

"Hotori Tadase and his chara, Kiseki." Ikuto said. "He arrived a little over a year ago. He was the last one before you. There are 5 others. Fujisaki Nadeshiko and Fujisaki Nagihiko, Hoshina Utau, Souma Kuukai, Mashiro Rima, and Yuiki Yaya. I was the first here of all of them. Utau came next. Kuukai came after Utau. Then the Fujisaki twins. Rima was after that. Then Yaya. Lastly, Tadase. Now you."

"Did you know any of these people before?" Amu asked. She was curious as to how he knew all of their names.

Ikuto sighed. "Utau's my sister, and I grew up living with Tadase. My father disappeared when I was little, and my mother went into a state of depression."

"I-I'm sorry." Amu said. "That must've been terrible." Ikuto didn't reply. He just sat there, staring at the sky. Finally he got up, and jumped down from the tree.

"We should get going, it's getting dark." Amu climbed down, wishing she could just jump down. "We need to find shelter before the sun sets, otherwise we're in trouble.

The pair wandered for a while, their charas following behind. Soon they came upon a small cave. Amu walked in while Ikuto went out and gathered sticks for a fire. After a fire had been started, Amu remembered she hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast.

"Umm, where do we get food?" She asked.

Ikuto glanced at her. "You don't need food here. Even if you did, there's no place to get any." Amu sighed. At least she didn't feel hungry. She laid down and fell asleep.

**Yeah, so I'm making Nadeshiko and Nagihiko twins in this story. Also Yume no kuni means Land of Dreams. Yeah, I had to Google Translate that. Hope you enjoyed! Review!**

**Ja ne!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys sorry I haven't updated in a while. I'll try to update more often. I'm thinking of doing a regular update, like every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. But that might not happen. Also I forgot the disclaimer in the last chapter. *sigh* I'm such a bad author. Enjoy the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara or any of its characters. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfictions. All rights go to Peach Pit.**

Amu woke up the next morning, her back killing her. She wasn't in her own bed. She felt a pair of arms wrapped around her. Turning around, Amu saw Ikuto sleeping, with her arms wrapped around her.

"What do I do!" She quietly panicked. Slowly prying his arms off her, she got up, brushed the dust off her clothes and walked to the entrance of the cave. The sun was rising over the horizon, the morning chill still in the air. Ikuto got up and stood beside her.

He looked at her. "It should be safe now."

Amu tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean 'safe now'?" Was something wrong with this place at night? If there was, Amu was determined to find out what, and why.

"It's nothing, just be sure to stay hidden at night. I'm sure you'll do fine." He then began to walk away. Before Amu could do anything, he left into the trees and disappeared from sight. The only thing she could see was the rustling of the trees when he moved. She called his name, but Ikuto had already gone too far for him to hear. Sighing, Amu headed the opposite way Ikuto had left, her charas following behind her. They were talking quietly, but she couldn't pick up on what they were saying.

Suddenly, Ran screamed. "Amu-chan!" Following her gaze, Amu saw what looked like the wolf from yesterday, except this was a very, very large spider.

It ran towards her, and Amu panicked. What should she do? She was vaguely aware of Ran saying something along the lines of "Hop. Step. Jump!" and before she knew it she was in the air.

"Amu-chan, you need to do something now! ~desu!" Su said. But she couldn't. Something bright was flying towards her, and fast.

-Ikuto's POV-

Ikuto almost fell off the tree as the Humpty Lock, passed down to the oldest of the what were called "Guardians" began to shine brightly. It flew off, and left Ikuto there to fall down and land in a bush, losing his cat-like grace.

"What just happened?" He wondered to himself. Yoru flew over to him.

"Ikuto are you okay? ~nya." He asked. Ikuto nodded his head yes, and Yoru looked relieved.

-Normal POV (Amu's)-

The shining light collided with her, and started to glow pink. Amu heard "My own heart, unlock!" And realized she was saying it. The light seemed to shine brighter with every second. When the light faded, Amu looked down. She was wearing an outfit similar to Ran's. "What is this!" She gasped. Her hair was tied to the side. She was almost like a human Ran.

"Character Transformation: Amulet Heart!" Amu heard herself saying. Miki and Su were there, beside her, and she could feel Ran inside her heart.

"Go go Amu-chan!" She cheered inside Amu's head. Amu couldn't explain what happened next.

"Negative mind: Lock on!" Her hands made a heart shape in front of her chest. "Open fear!" She thrust her hands out, and small, pink hearts came out from them. There was another bright light. Amu saw the spider being purified, and it dissolved into the air. Amu landed on the ground, and in a flash, transformed back to normal.

"What was that?" She asked her charas.

"That was a character transformation, a very rare thing to find these days." Amu heard a voice behind her. There was a girl with long violet hair and auburn eyes. She stepped out with a boy who looked just like her. Amu guessed that these were the, uh, what was it, the Fujisaki twins that Ikuto had mentioned. She couldn't remember what their names were, though.

The girl stuck her hand out. "I'm Fujisaki Nadeshiko, and you can call me Nadeshiko." Amu took the hand and shook it.

"Hinamori Amu, and call me Hinamori." She said, her cool-and-spicy façade kicking in. "And you are?" She said, looking at the boy.

He smiled at her. "Fujisaki Nagihiko. Call me Nagi."

**I really need to work on making longer chapters. Maybe in my next story. Also, one thing, I probably won't start another story until I finish this one. Review!**

**Ja ne!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for not updating for so long! Gomen! I had a huge case of writer's block. Last chapter I forgot the mention I'm using a different form of "Open Heart!" for when Amu is cleansing a fear.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara. If I did I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfictions.**

Amu walked along the path next to Nadeshiko. Nagihiko had run ahead to tell the others, who Amu had not been told who it was. A small dirt path had been made from walking along the path so many times. The sun hadn't risen completely yet, the morning air was cold, and Amu shivered. But she didn't care. She was too busy wondering where they were going.

"So why can't you be out at night?" Amu suddenly blurted out. She was curious as to why. Ikuto wouldn't tell her, which had only sparked her curiosity more. And if Nadeshiko won't tell her, maybe she can ask Nagihiko or any of the others.

"Nightmares. They will overwhelm you if you're not careful. They usually take the form of something in the nightmare. If the child if being chased by a monster in their dream, it will take form of the monster in their imagination. If they have a good dream, the dream takes the does the same as the nightmare. But the dreams don't attack you. They fight against the nightmares all night, and disappear in the morning." Nadeshiko explained, but it didn't help much. Amu still had a ton of questions to ask.

But she would ask those later. They had come upon a large cave, though it looked small from the outside. The tiny entrance gave way to a large chamber. The place was empty, except for a circle of rocks with twigs in the middle with a few other things lying around. Nadeshiko led Amu through twisting passageways lit by makeshift torches. There was a small room with a single torch.

"This is where you'll be sleeping. Wait here, and get situated. I'll come back in an hour." And with that, she left.

Seconds ticked by. They quickly turned into minutes, then hours. Could they have forgotten about Amu? She wondered if possibly she had been taken prisoner. Trying to distract herself from those thoughts, and not panic like she usually did, she worked on making the room look more, well, more like home. Amu was so busy on the room; she didn't even notice someone walking in.

In fact, she didn't notice until he put his hand on her shoulder. She squeaked, losing her cool-and-spicy façade, and jumped back.

It was the boy from earlier.

"What- what are you doing here?" She stuttered, obviously nervous. But if the boy noticed, he didn't say anything. The chara which Amu had seen on her first day in this place floated behind him.

The boy held his hand out. "I'm Hotori Tadase, nice to meet you." He smiled, which made Amu want to melt on the spot. She figured she looked stupid, stuttering in front of a boy she hadn't even met yet. Screaming inside her head to stay calm, she took a deep breath.

"I'm Hinamori Amu," She said, still not taking the hand which was still held out.

Of course, the king-like chara noticed. "Commoner, how dare you not take the king's hand, which he had offered you!"

"Kiseki," Tadase said, but withdrew his hand nevertheless, seeing as Amu was refusing to take it. "Follow me," He turned around and walked down the winding hallway. Amu hesitated. She didn't want to get lost, but she had no real reason not to trust Tadase. So she followed, until they came into the large cavern that she'd seen when she first entered the cave. At least now she knew she could escape is she needed to.

Around a campfire in the middle were Nadeshiko and Nagihiko, along with three others who she didn't recognize. Still following Tadase, she sat down next to him.

**I've decided to put this story of hold, due to lack of reviews. I'm finding it hard to write this story, and don't know what to do next. I'll resume writing once I figure out what to do with this story.**


	5. Chapter 5

**So I've decided not to put this story on hold. Thanks to TheLingeringWolf, your review really helped. So I will continue this, all the way to the end. I'm thinking about making this story about 10-15 chapters long. But still expect not-so-regular updates, as I am still having a little trouble with this. Well, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Shugo Chara, no matter how much I want to.**

Besides the two twins and Tadase, there was a girl with auburn hair pulled into two tails. Bright amber eyes and a big smile illuminated her face. A chara that was dressed like a baby floated by her side.

Next to her, there was a girl with long, golden hair that went down to her waist with eyes to match. Unlike the first girl, her face was blank in expression. A clown-like chara floated by her side.

Finally, there was a boy with messy brown hair and greenish-yellow eyes. He had a smile on his face that seemed permanently stuck there. Next to him floated a chara that Amu couldn't quite tell what it was, but assumed it was some sort of soccer player.

The boy was the first to greet her.

"Yo Hinamori," He said, which surprised Amu.

"How-how did you know my name?" Amu stuttured. _I really need to stop that._ She thought.

He glanced over at the twins. "They told us about you."

Nagihiko spoke up. "That's Souma Kuukai. The girl with the blonde hair is Mashiro Rima, and the last one is Yuiki Yaya." Those names sounded familiar to Amu, she remember Ikuto telling her about them.

But then it struck her. "Where's Utau?" She wondered out loud. All of them tilted their heads in confusion.

"How do you know her?" Tadase asked.

"Well, before I met you guys, I met a guy named Ikuto-"

"Tsukiyomi Ikuto!" Tadase burst out, interrupting her sentence. He quickly fell silent, though, when he noticed everyone staring at him. "Sorry, go on."

Amu continued. "And he told me your guys' names, and he mentioned someone names Hoshina Utau. I guessed he was the loner here, and you guys were all one big group."

Rima shook her head. "Utau doesn't hang around anyone." She said quietly. Yaya nodded her head, as if agreeing to what Rima had just said.

"Amu, do you have any candy for Yaya?" Yaya asked. Of course, Amu, knowing there wasn't any food needed here, was thoroughly confused.

"Wait," She said slowly. "I thought there wasn't any food here."

"There isn't," Kuukai said. "But we can still eat if there was any. Anyways, you should know better than to ask that, Yaya." He gave her a stern, but playful glare. She giggled in response, and everyone else watched with an amused expression.

Amu glanced out the door. The sun was setting, making for a beautiful sky. She wondered how a place like this could be so, different. Maybe even the term to use, violent. Although, she didn't watch long enough to see the nightmares Nadeshiko described come out. She wanted to see them, but at the same time she didn't.

She yawned, and Tadase noticed. Mostly because he was staring at Amu the whole time she had been looking outside. "I'll take you back to your room." He offered, and Amu nodded her head sleepily. As they walked through the tunnels, she wondered how they found a cave this big. She made a mental note to memorize her way around "This was made when this place was created." Tadase read her mind. Again Amu felt her head shaking slightly, too tired to make any more movements.

Although she was so tired, when she got to her assigned room and collapsed on the make-shift bed, she could seem to fall asleep. It was as if her body refused to sleep. And she soon found out why. Unknown to everyone as they met Amu, Ikuto had somehow managed to sneak in, and was sitting against the wall, his eyes closed. Amu, figuring he was asleep, got up and walked over to him.

As she peered into his face, his eyes opened and he said, "You know stalkers watch people while they're sleeping." Amu fell back, shocked.

"Wha-what? I'm n-not watching you sl-sleep." She went back to her old stuttering.

Ikuto just let out a chuckle. "Then what were you doing, my little koi?"

"W-well, I was wondering what you were doing- wait, I'm not your koi! Where did you get that from?"

"Yes you are," He said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her. He rested his chin on her shoulder. This, without a doubt, made Amu turn beet-red. She sat there, frozen. She was too stunned to hear the footsteps heading their way, and Ikuto wasn't paying any attention. He was to busy watching Amu with amusement.

"Hinamori, I heard yelling. Are you oka-" Tadase stopped mid-sentence when he reached the entrance to the room. "Tsukiyomi Ikuto!"

**There ya go. Another cliffie. This story is gonna be full of them. I put in a little Amuto moment for you guys, but Tadase had to ruin it. I think this is the longest chapter I've written so far. Yay for me! Anyways, hope you enjoyed the story and have a happy New Year! I'll be bringing Kairi into the story sometime in the future, even though no one knows who he is, yet. And Utau will be showing up soon, with her mad-love for Ikuto. Review!**

**Ja ne!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I forgot to mention in the last chapter (I always forget something, don't I?) that koi means boyfriend/girlfriend. This is a short chapter, so you aren't waiting as soon between updates. Also, here are the ages:**

**Yaya – 14**

**Amu, Tadase, Nadeshiko, Nagihiko and Rima – 15**

**Kuukai and Utau – 16**

**Ikuto – 18**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Shugo Chara. Never have never will. So why do I have to say this?**

Ikuto ran out of the cave, carrying a blushing Amu in his arms. _Why does this happen to me?_ She thought.

After the first night he showed up in her room, he kept coming nightly. She grew sick of it, and after a week she told him to get out. And he did.

-Flashback-

_Amu walked in to find Ikuto on her bed, again. She was considering asking Tadase for a new room, but that would mean talking to him, which she had avoided since the meeting a week ago._

"_Hello my little koi," He said, wrapping his arms around Amu, like he usually did._

_She blushed, each time it seemed she blushed a little less. "Why do you keep coming?" Every night she asked this, and every night he would reply._

"_Isn't is obvious?"_

_But this night, Amu finally lost it._

"_No I don't get it! You've shown up since I came to this damned place! I didn't__ ask for this you know! I wish you'd just leave me alone, just get the hell out of here!" As soon as the words left her lips, Amu regretted it._

-End of Flashback-

Now she sat here, too stunned to even move. When she's burst out, which she didn't even believe she did, he had picked her up and ran down the halls. Everyone was asleep, and Amu was too stunned to even realize what was going on. Her blush had spread through her entire face and deepened to a scarlet color, making her face look like a tomato had hit it. The worst part was is that she hadn't had time to wake her charas, meaning they were still back in the cave, where they'd fallen asleep. Meanwhile Yoru was floating by Ikuto's side.

**Sorry again for the short chapter. I'll try to have the next one up as soon as possible. Review!**

**Ja ne!**


	7. An Announcement

Hey guys! So this isn't exactly a chapter. =/ Sorry about that. I know I haven't updated this story in MONTHS, and as much as I try, I can't seem to be able sit down and write a chapter. So if any of you writers out there like the plot and wanna give a crack at it, I'm setting this story up for adoption. So just private message me saying you want it, and I'll go ahead and send you the documents for it. Sorry about this guys, I just really can't finish it. 


End file.
